VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

(Letters)

October 12, 2007

Waving the flag pin

Some people are questioning Sen. Barack Obama's patriotism because he doesn't wear an American flag pin on his lapel ("His lapel naked, Obama makes a fashion statement," News, Oct. 5). This is three notches below ridiculous. A gesture that small should never be confused with actually doing something meaningful.

It's like the folks who buy a $3 sticker for their car and act like they've made a substantive contribution to the war on terror. Putting a flag on your car or coat is just about the dictionary definition of "The Least You Can Do."

I think of something my father told me. He worked (reluctantly) for the IRS and dealt with a steady stream of very wealthy people whom he caught doing everything in their power, much of it illegal, to not pay taxes. This was during the Vietnam War and some of these rich men were quite vocal that the U.S. had to spend every nickel necessary to build every conceivable weapon to defeat the communists, but God forbid it should be their nickels. Dad said every one of them had an American flag in his lapel and thought that merely wearing it made him a Good American.

Is Obama a Good American? If he genuinely defends the Constitution and the principles on which this nation was founded, then yes -- regardless of what's in his buttonhole. Anyone who works against these principles is not -- and it wouldn't matter if he had a flag, the Statue of Liberty, Plymouth Rock and John Wayne on his lapel.